Well-drilling apparatus.



No. 798,449. PATBNTED AUG. 29, 1905.

C. F. RIGBY. WELL DRILLING APPARATUS.

APPLIGATION FILED OUT. 8. 1903.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

Ira/MED) PATENTED AUG. 29, 1905.

0. F. RIGBY, WELL DRILLING APPARATUS.

APPLIOATION FILED 001. 8.1903.

3 SHBETS-SHBET 2.

PATENTED AUG. 29, 1905.

C. F. RIGBY.

' WELL DRILLING APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED OCT. 8. 1903.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3 UNITED STATES PATENT @FFICE.

WELL-DRILLING APPARATUS...

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 29, 1905.

Application filed October 8, 1903. Serial No. 176,175.

To all 7.071101 it TN/[Ly 0077106777,.

Be it known that I, CLARK F. RIGBY, a citizen of the United States,residing at New Martinsville, in the county of Wetzel and State of WestVirginia, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in VVell-Drilling Apparatus, of which the following is a specification, referencebeing had therein to the accompanying drawings.

A wire cable for deep-well drilling is in many ways superior to theuniversally-used manila cable. Its first cost is much less and it is farmore durable. With a manila cable when the hole fills or partially fillswith water it is necessary to place a long auger-stem or sinker-bar inthe string of tools to overcome the buoyancy of the cable, so thateffective blows may be struck. In many instances, however, the waterbecomes so deep that the cable practically floats the tools, and theonly remedy is to case the well to a point below the water-bearingstrata and bail out the hole. The casing is costly and much time isconsumed in inserting it. \Vith a wire-drilling cable a sinker-bar isunnecessary as the cable affords sufficient weight without it, and beingdevoid of any tendency to float it is unnecessary to.shut ofl the water,and the expense of casing the well is saved. A further advantageincident to the use of a wire cable is that the tools will strike aneffective blow at every downstroke of the cable and it is unnecessary toactuate the same at very low speed to accomplish this, whereas with amanila cable the speed must be slow, otherwise the sudden pulls on thecable will so stretch it that the tools will not be lifted, andespecially is this the case when the drilling has progressed to aconsiderable depth. But seemingly insurmountable difliculties haveattended the use of wire cable. It is practically devoid of spring orstretch, so that in the attempts to actuate it with the mechanismadapted for manila cable the entire weight of the tools and cable isthrown on the engine at one instant and at another instant the wholeweight is released and exerts a strong and sudden jerk and forward pullon the driving mechanism. These sudden and violent fluctuations of loadand speed have proven fatal to even the most stoutly-equipped apparatus.

This invention is directed to overcoming the objections noted byproviding a compensating connection between the band-wheel andband-wheel shaft, so that during the first portion of the rapiddownstroke of the tools the shaft moves more rapidly than the bandwheel,and on the upstroke, or when the tools are lifted, the band-wheel atfirst moves more rapidly than the shaft, so that the load is taken upgradually, and these compensating movements, combined with effectivecushion ing means, greatly reduce the objectionable variations in loadand speed and render drilling with a wire cable entirely practicable.

In Letters Patent No. 532,338, granted to me January 8, 1895, I show anddescribe a mechanism for cutting off steam from the engine during thedownstroke of the tools, which has been quite effective in overcomingthe difficulties attending the use of wire cable; but I have found thatby combining that invention with the compensating connection between theband-wheel and shaft the wear and tearon the machinery is greatlyreduced, and

the drilling proceeds with greater uniformity in the strokes thanheretofore.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a side elevation of a drillingequipment provided with my improvement, and Fig. 2 is a plan view of aportion of the same. Figs. 3 and 4: are side views of the band-wheel,crankshaft, and uniting connections, showing the same in dilferentpositions. Fig. 5 is a side elevation of a portion of the same on alarger scale, and Fig. 6 is a sectional view of the same.

Referring to the drawings, 2 designates the walking-beam fulcrumed onsamson-post 3, and depending from the outer end thereof is the usualdrilling-cable connection 1, while from its rear end depends the pitman5, which connects with crank 6 on band-wheel shaft 7, the latter beingjournaled in jack-posts 8 in the usual manner, said shaft being drivenby band-wheel 9, belt 10, and engine 11.

Instead of keying the band-wheel to shaft 7 as heretofore it isrotatably mounted on a hub 12, which is keyed to the shaft, andprojecting from this hub in opposite directions are arms 13 and 14.Acylinder 15 is trunnioned at 16 between the side of the bandwheel and abracket 17 and operative therein is a piston 18, from which projects rod19, which connects with pin 20 in the forked extremity of arm 13.Adjacent opposite ends of the cylinder are air-vents 21, controlled bycocks 22 and 22. At the extremity of arm 14 is the double-ended head 23,and secured to the side of the band-wheel, at opposite sides of saidhead and in the radius thereof, are the spring-buffers 24 and 25.

In operation the parts rotate in the direction indicated by the arrowsin the several views, so that with crank 6 in position shown in Figs. 1and and in full lines in Fig. 3 it has begun to pull downward on pitman5 and to raise the tools in the well. Instead of said crank and shaftmoving positively with the wheel first moves cylinder inward over piston18, with the confined air in the cylinder cushioning the stroke. (lock22 may be closed or it may be partially open to permit the air toexhaust gradually. In either event there is an appreciable forwardmovement of the band-wheel and cylinder in advance of shaft 7 and beforea positive connection is made with arm 13, rigid with the shaft, asshown in dotted lines in Fig. 3. This same movement brings head 23 ofarm 14 in contact with spring-buffer 24, which not only provides anadditional connection between the parts, but also operates as asupplemental cushionand prevents them from uniting with a jolt. The loadis thus gradually and easily thrown upon the band-wheel, and crank 6 iscarried down over the bottom center, as shown in full lines in Fig. 4,and the tools raised. At this juncture the tools begin the downwardstroke, and crank 6 is not only relieved of load, but is subjected to astrong upward jerk and pull, which is of course communicated to shaft-7and arms 13 and 14, as all of said parts are rigidly united; but beforea positive connection is made with the band-wheel piston-rod 19 is drawnoutward and crank 6 and arms 13 and 14 move to position shown in dottedlines in Fig. 4 with head 23 of arm 14 in engagement with buffer 25.Piston 18 moves in cylinder 15 toward cook 22 to cushion the stroke inthe manner above described, and this,together with spring-buffer 25,compensates in a great measure for the sudden jolt and acceleratedmovement which would otherwise be communicated to the band-wheel. At thecompletion of the downstroke of the tools and at the commencement of theupstroke the parts are in position shown in Figs. 1 and 5 and in fulllines in Fig. 3, and the operation is repeated.

Vents 21 are purposely located inward from the ends of cylinder 15, sothat even though cocks 22 and 22 are so set as to permit a rapid outflowof air a sufiicient amount will remain in the cylinder ends after thepiston has passed over said vents to appreciably cushion the same andprevent it from coming in violent contact with the cylinder-heads.

Cooperating with the compensating connection between the shaft andband-wheel is a steam-cut-ofi mechanism similar to that de scribed in myabove-mentioned patent for depriving the engine of steam during thedownstroke of the tools and shutting off the power excepting when neededfor lifting the tools, thereby greatly reducing the wear and tearincident to the sudden changes in load and speed. In the presentadaptation shaft 7 is provided with an eccentric 26, embraced by strap27, and projecting from the latter is rod 28, which reciprocates throughbracket 29, pivoted to post 30. Fulcrumed on this Y W post is lever 31,which is connected by rod 32 band-wheel in accomplishing this strokesaid with cut-off valve 33 in the steam-supply 34 of engine 11. Aweighted arm 31 at the lower end of lever 31 holds the latter normallydrawn inward or toward shaft 7, with valve 33 closed. The arrangement issuch that toward the completion of the downstroke of the tools theextremity of rod 28 pushes outward on lever 31, so that at thecompletion of said stroke the valve is entirely open and is so held bythe described connections until the completion of the lifting or upstroke. Upon completion of the latter rod 28 has receded sufficiently topermit lever 31 to begin to respond to the pull of the weight, and thevalve gradually closes. When it is desired that the engine shall have aconstant supply of steam, as when drawing tools, &c., the automaticcut-off may be rendered inactive by securing lever 31 to a rack 35 outof reach of rod 28 and with valve 33 open.-

36 is the engine throttle-valve, which is operated in usual manner byendless rope or belt 37 which passes over an operating-wheel 38, mountedin the derrick adjacent lever 31. Thus control of the entire apparatusis within convenient reach of the driller as he stands in his usualstation on the derrick-floor near the drilling-cable.

The body of band-wheel 9 is preferably of wood and formed of a pluralityof thin sections, as is usual in this class of built-up pulleys. At theside of the wheel adjacent arms 13 and 14 is the circular plate 40, uponwhich cylinder 15 is mounted, said plate being bolted to and forming arigid part of the bandwheel. Integral with plate 40 is the box or hub41, which extends through and forms the center of the wheel and fits hubor bearing'12, being confined thereon by collar 42. Bearing 12 ispreferably cored to form oilcavity 43, which is'filled through duct 44,while oil feeds to the outer or bearing surface through one or moreapertures 45.

While the compensating connection between the power-transmitting shaftand its driving element is here shown and described in connection withwell-drilling apparatus, it will be understood that it may be applied toother uses without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

I claim as my invention 1. In well-drilling apparatus, the combinationof a shaft having a crank, drilling means connected to and reciprocatedby the crank, a shaft-driving wheel having limited movement independentof the shaft thereby permitting the wheel to move faster than the shaftat the beginning of the upstroke of the drillingtools and permitting theshaft to move faster than the wheel at the beginning of the downstrokeof the drilling-tools, and cushioning means for resisting the latterportion of each of said independent movements.

2. In well-drilling apparatus, the combination of a horizontal shafthaving a crank, a connection with the crank for raising thedrilling-tools as the crank turns downward, a band-wheel loose on theshaft thereby permitting the shaft and crank to move independently ofand more rapidly than the bandwheel during the upward movement of thecrank, stop means for positively connecting the wheel and shaft whilethe crank is mov ing in a downward direction, and a constantcompensating connection between the wheel and shaft.

3. In well-drilling apparatus, the combination of a shaft having acrank, a connection with the crank for raising and lowering thedrilling-tools, a wheel for driving the shaft having limited movementindependent thereof whereby the wheel may move faster than the shaft andvice versa, an air-cylinder carried by the wheel having its pistonconnected to the shaft, and controlled air-ports for the opposite endsof the cylinder.

4:. In well-drilling apparatus, the combina-:

tion of a shaft having a crank, a connection with the crank for raisingand lowering the drilling-tools, a wheel for driving the shaft havinglimited movement independent'there- 0f whereby the wheel may move fasterthan the shaft and vice versa, an air-cylinder carried by the wheelhaving its piston connected to the shaft, and controlled air-ports foropposite portions of the cylinder positioned inward from the cylinderextremities, whereby air-cushions are formed in said extremitiesirrespective of said ports.

In well-drilling apparatus, the combination of a shaft having a crank,drilling means connected to and reciprocated by the crank, a rotatingbody for driving the shaft, an arm projectingfrom the-shaft, a cylindermounted to oscillate on said body, a piston, the cylinder beingconstructed and arranged to form air-cushions in its ends for thereverse movements of the piston, and a rod connecting the piston withsaid arm.

6. In well-drilling apparatus, the combination of a shaft having acrank, drilling means connected to and reciprocated by the crank, a bodyloose on the shaft for rotating the latter, an arm projecting from theshaft, separated stops on the body between which the arm extends andwith which the arm cooperates for limiting the independent movement ofthe shaft and body, and a compensating device forming a constantconnection between the shaft and said body.

'7. In well-drilling apparatus, the combination of a shaft having acrank, drilling means connected to and reciprocated by the crank, a bodyloose on the shaft for driving the latter, two arms projecting from theshaft, separated stops on the body between which one of said armsextends and with which the arm eoopcrates for limiting the independentmovements of the shaft and body, a cushioning device mounted tooscillate on thebody, and a longitudinal movable connection between theother of said arms and the cushioning device.

.8. In well-drilling apparatus, the combination of a horizontal shafthaving a crank, a rod connected to the crank for raising thedrilling-tools as the crank turns downward, a stop carried by theband-wheel, an arm projecting from the shaft and adapted to engage saidstop during the downward movement of the crank and thus form a positiveconnection between the shaft and band-wheel during said movement, asecond stop carried by the bandwheel and separated from thefirst-mentioned stop to afford the arm limited movement independent ofand faster than the band-Wheel when the crank begins its ascent, and aconstant compensating connection between the shaft and band-wheel.

9. In well-drilling apparatus, the combination of a shaft having acrank, drilling means connected to and reciprocated by the crank, ashaft-driving wheel having limited movement independent of the shaftthereby permitting the wheel to move faster than the shaft at thebeginning of the upstroke of the drillingtools and permitting the shaftto move faster than the wheel at the beginning of the downstroke of thedrilling-tools, cushioning means for resisting said independentmovements, an engine for driving said wheel, and a connection betweenthe shaft and engine for shutting off steam from the latter during thedownstroke of the tools.

10. In well-drilling apparatus, a shaft for transmitting power to thedrilling-cable, an

eccentric actuated by the shaft, a bar adapted to be oscillated by theeccentric, a weighted lever adapted to be oscillated by the ba.- anengine-valve, and a connection between the lever and said valve.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

CLARK F. RIGBY. I/Vitnesses:

J. M. Nnserr, ALEX. S. MALoN.

